Definitions for battleˈbæt lbat·tle

Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word battle.

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

battle, conflict, fight, engagement(noun)

a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

"Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement"

struggle, battle(noun)

an energetic attempt to achieve something

"getting through the crowd was a real struggle"; "he fought a battle for recognition"

conflict, struggle, battle(verb)

an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

"the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs"

battle, combat(verb)

battle or contend against in or as if in a battle

"The Kurds are combating Iraqi troops in Northern Iraq"; "We must combat the prejudices against other races"; "they battled over the budget"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Battle(ProperNoun)

from places in England that have been sites of a battle.

Battle(ProperNoun)

a town in East Sussex.

Origin: From Early Modern English batell, probably from *, from *, from batian, from batōnan, from bʰAd- . Related to bate, baatsje, baten, batten. Compare batten. More at better.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Battle(adj)

fertile. See Battel, a

Battle(verb)

a general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat

Battle(verb)

a struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life

Battle(verb)

a division of an army; a battalion

Battle(verb)

the main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia

Battle(noun)

to join in battle; to contend in fight; as, to battle over theories

Battle(verb)

to assail in battle; to fight

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Battle

Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. A war sometimes consists of many battles. Battles generally are well defined in duration, area and force commitment.
Wars and military campaigns are guided by strategy, whereas battles take place on a level of planning and execution known as operational mobility. German strategist Carl von Clausewitz stated that "the employment of battles ... to achieve the object of war" was the essence of strategy.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Battle

bat′l, n. a contest between opposing armies: a fight or encounter: (arch.) a body of troops in battle array, esp. in phrase 'main battle.'—v.i. to contend in fight: to maintain, champion (with against, with).—ns.Bat′tle-axe, -ax, a kind of axe once used in battle; Bat′tle-cry, a war-shout; Bat′tlefield, the place on which a battle is fought; Bat′tle-piece, a passage, or a painting, describing a battle.—adj.Bat′tle-scarred, scarred in battle.—ns.Bat′tleship, a war-ship of the first class; Pitched′-bat′tle, a battle fought on chosen ground.—Battle royal, a general mêlée—Half the battle, said of anything which ensures success.—Line of battle, troops in array for battle; Line-of-battle ship, a ship strong enough to form one of the line.—To join, do battle, to fight. [Fr. bataille—battre, to beat. See Batter.]